Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day! Since I know you were all wondering what makes my heart flutter here's a partial list of my favorite things. Even one of these little guys is enough to make my day.

1. Fresh sheets. Slipping my feet into fresh, crisp sheets makes me go "Ahhhhhh!" every time. It's one of the high points of my Friday evening (Friday is my cleaning day where I change all the sheets). If the sheets have been dried on my clothesline it's even better. If the sheets have been changed by my own personal maid that's how I know I've died and gone to heaven.

2. Pasta. Any kind, any style, any shape. Well no, I take that back. One time Andrew and I went out to dinner at The Marx Brothers' Cafe and noticed squid ink pasta on the menu. What?? I was tempted to pester the waiter with questions like "What on earth would squid ink pasta look like? Are we talking black noodles here?" but I thought that would be too, too gauche and I refrained. Anyone have experience with this stuff?

3. Finding change in my pocket. Boy, if I reach into my pocket and find some money I forgot was there it's like I've won the lottery. A very small lottery.

4. A good pair of jeans. These babies are so hard to come by that if I find a pair I like it's like finding the Holy Grail of clothing. Currently, I'm in between relationships with my jeans, I've worn out several pairs that I liked but can't seen to find others to take their place. Maybe I'm saving up for a pair of Sevens. Yea, maybe . . .

5. Fire. I know I'm not the only one who finds a fire hypnotic but boy do I love sitting next to one. It's the part of camping that I like and I can sit up very late gazing at the flames. Since we've put in our new gas fireplace I now have my new Special Spot in my big leather chair which I slide in front of the fireplace, put my feet up and read or blog till someone makes me get up. You know, for like fixing meals and things like that. "Not right now kids, Mommy's blogging!"

6. Opera. It's not as if I listen to opera all the time, you know I can rock with the best of them (Have you seen the ads for the new IMAX movie U23D? I'm dying to see it) but opera holds a special place in my heart. My favorite is La Nozze di Figaro but you should hear me screeching along with Pavarotti when he belts out an Verdi or Puccini aria, it's . . . um . . . memorable.

Here's one of my favorites, it's from The Pearl Fishers by Bizet:

7. Warm summer nights. Growing up in Alaska my body has been trained to equate darkness with cold. It's only dark in the winter here so when I went to school out of state and walked around campus on a dark, warm summer night it was the oddest experience--but I loved it. Summer nights, where things smell warm and green, are just heavenly and if I can get a thunderstorm in there too it's just a bonus. Love those warm nights.

8. Classic movies. Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper--I love old movies. My Mom and grandmother trained me well and raised me to appreciate classic cinema--I could talk your ear off about some of my favorites. I've got Andrew to watch quite a few with me, though he prefers Manly Movies like Bridge on the River Kwai, The Guns of Navarone, The Dirty Dozen, etc. Roman Holiday isn't really his thing.

9. The national anthem. This is kind of funny I guess, but I just love hearing "The Star-Spangled Banner." It's not as if I'm hugely patriotic, though I like to think I'm a good citizen and all that, but I like the sound of this song, what it does to people and the emotions it brings. Have you ever heard the words to the second or third verses? Quite stirring, you should look it up.

10. Seashells. I'm not sure why but seashells fascinate me. I can't see one on a beach without picking it up and saving it consequently I have baskets and bowls of seashells stashed around the house that I can't bear to give up. When we head to Florida next month we're going to Sanibel Island which is reported to have the second-best shelling beach in the world. THE WORLD PEOPLE. I'm going to be all over that--"We're going to need a bigger bucket!"

11. Travel. Everyone has their guilty pleasures and though I'm not really into fancy cars or big houses or expensive gadgets (with the exception of the new Macbook Airs, I could be very much into those) but if I had something that I'd spend money on it would be travel. By plane, car, boat or train it doesn't matter I just love to see new places and enjoy the experience travel has to offer. There aren't too many places I'm not interested in seeing some day--except maybe Greenland. I could live my life without going to Greenland. I made a list of places I want to see here and it hasn't changed much.

12. Dressing up. If you saw this list of things I won't wear I have to say that I do love dressing up--nylons, slips, jewelry, high heels, the whole bit. Some people don't like having to be squished into formal wear but I quite like the feeling of getting all gussied up (gussied? Is that still a word?) and going out. Dresses are pretty, I love silky fabrics and flowing lines, and my legs look better in heels--it's just a great thing all around. Plus there's always an anticipation when you put on your best clothes to go out.

13. Newborn babies. I don't want this to sound weird or anything but I LOVE everything about newborns. The smell of their little necks, the way their hands are wrapped up in those long sleeved t-shirts, the way they scrunch up their little froggy legs, their little tiny faces, hands and feet. Though I'm not a woman who goes crazy for children or babies normally--they tend to be too darn moist for my taste--a newborn can get me every time. Maybe it's because they aren't big enough to have runny noses, nasty diapers and serious spew capacity. Though I've seen plenty of older babies that aren't exactly . . . um . . . cute I've never seen a newborn that wasn't adorable. Really. I can't help but stick my nose in their little wrinkly necks and smooch away. Even their diapers don't offend me--okay now I sound weird.

***

Don't miss this month's Write-Away Contest, the topic is (of course) Love. Deadline is February 20th!

La Nozze di Figaro is my favorite, too. Just about anything Mozart is a favorite of mine. I love everything about newborns, too. How can you not!? People who say "eww" to babies freak me out. Babies smell good and I love their wrinkles and the cute noises they make. I especially love watching a baby nurse....oh so cute. Especially when they have little milk drips on them...ok, I better stop thinking about babies or I'll end up pregnant again.

If you left out "opera" (not that I don't like it, just that it wouldn't be in my top 10, probably. I'd put nice old jazz or classical in there instead) and replaced The National Anthem with my school Alma Mater (I know, "sap!"), our lists would be almost identical. Come to Chicago in August and I'll let you snuffle my lil newborn as much as you like! And eat pasta.

I had squid ink pasta at my first wedding, but I never actually got to try it. Everyone said it just tasted like regular old pasta though. That picture you posted of the black fettucini gave me the heebie geebies though. Glargh!

Squid ink pasta is delish! (Salty, tastes like the sea.) Even better is fresh, homemade pasta served with sauce made of squid ink. (Yes, black!)My partner is Sicilian and immigrated when he was five. "Pasta Nero" (pasta with squid ink) is a classic dish that his mother loves to make... but I am the only one of her "children" who will eat it. Leave it to the super white girl to school three Sicilian kids in essential "Sicilianness" My love of all things seafood is my claim to fame in his house and when we are visiting the rest of his family back in the old country.

Great list, Michelle, although dressing up certainly wouldn't rank among my most favorite things. Hannah, being a girly-girl, can't understand why I don't wear dresses and skirts, and she's always trying to get me to buy one when we go shopping together. I'd rather wear jeans ALL the time with a crisp button-down shirt and cute flats. High heels?? Torture!

I absolutely, positively love the feel of fresh sheets! IT's the best!

Pasta is pretty yummy and refound change and dollars is always awesome!

I love, love, love to sit by a fire. I could sit there all day. My mom has a timeshare that we go to in the winter and my favorite part is the fireplace! It is the one thing I miss most in our own home.

One of my favorite things to do at the beach is find seashells. I am especially tickled when I find an unusual one:)

Newborn babies are awesome. I haven't been around one in quite a while and a lady in our church gave birth this week. I went to visit. I had forgotten how small those little guys are!

I enjoyed reading your Favorite things and you will be happy to know that I now have an ear worm as "My Favorite Things" tumbles through my head!

I've had pasta nero (squid ink pasta)! I'm married to a man who was born in Southern Italy, and seafood is a big part of their cuisine. The black ink pasta is a little salty in taste, but delicious! You have to have a red sauce with red pepper garnish --never cheese! I buy it at an Italian import market near where I live, but only for special occasions as it's very expensive.I love opera, also! I blogged recently about attending "Otello" at the NYC Met. My husband and I have been subscribers for years. it's another cultural "gift" I've been exposed to through him. My favorite opera is "La Traviata"

Totally agree about the jeans, classic movies, and finding change. Summer nights are filled with too many bugs for my tastes, and I don't like newborns at all, much prefer them once they are 6 months or so. Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm am completely taken aback with squid ink pasta. It doesn't sound like it would taste any good but my interest is piqued, that's for sure.

Newborn babies are awesome. My sister just had her first baby, so I'm a new Aunt and although I don't think I'm very good with children, I do love holding my new niece! It's an amazing feeling, everything just feels so right with the world.

Ahhhh... this is a very good list of favorite things.... Fresh sheets, oh yeah. Pasta, lovely comfort food. Change in pocket, bonus! Jeans, essential. Fire, just lovely and warm and pretty. Warm summer nights, how I miss them. Classic movies, Cary Grant all the way. Seashells, fascinating. Travel, top of the list. And babies, newborn babies. Got to touch one just today. :)

Oh I am so jealous. You're going to Sanibel! I've been there a number of times and it is fantastic. The shells are best after a huge storm. It churns up the ocean and deposits all those beautiful shells right there for you to pick up. And if you go out a little and shuffle your feet, you might get lucky and find some sand dollars. Have fun and enjoy yourselves.jean

You should combine your love of travel and seashells and go to Mauritania. There's lots of shells there, and very few people to pick them up. There are so many shells that they use them in concrete instead of gravel.

GREAT list, Michelle! I love fresh sheets and newborns and pasta and opera and fire and... what you said! BTW, was that adorable newborn one of yours? Really fantastic photo of a darling little girl! Newborns get me every time too!

I'm so with you...I like my summer nights "balmy." Yes, "Gussied" is still a word, I love it. Classic movies, well, talent doesn't come like it used to. I'm so new-baby hungry for #2 right now I can smell the purity and softness...and fresh linens just make a bad day disapper.

Great list. I am about to get over the fresh sheet thing, though, since I have to change mine nearly every day because one or both of my children has either peed or otherwise defiled my bed. And yes, you'll need a bigger bucket for Sanibel (no more wafer thin mints, thank you). Ridi (sp), Paliacchi!